The First Descendant – 10 Things the Developer Should Address

If you’ve seen my review of The First Descendant, you’ll know I have some grievances with the game’s fundamentals. Agree to disagree, but the story, mission design, characterization and whatnot just don’t cut it. On the plus side, at least the gunplay and extensive customization are solid, while the visuals look sharp.

Opinions aside, however, there’s no denying that Nexon’s free-to-play shooter has many issues, ranging from irritating to frustrating, that it needs to sort out and fix immediately. Let’s take a look at ten such things here.

Matchmaking in Hard Mode

As you properly dive into the end game, Hard mode becomes available for many activities. Infiltration Operations, for example, have more modifiers to up the difficulty, and you can tack on some more for an increased Kill Score (which raises the chance of certain rewards). The same goes for Special Operations and Void Intercepts, the latter required to open different Amorphous Materials. In theory, it’s not a terrible way to repurpose a lot of existing content. The problem is the lack of matchmaking, making things much more challenging than they need to be and effectively handicapping solo players, especially since you must redo segments like bosses if you die before they’re slain (that too with limited lives).

Looking for Group

The only option then is to play with friends, but what if (no offense) you don’t have any, or at least any online at the time? Why isn’t there a Looking for Group tool? Even Bungie eventually smartened up and added the Fireteam Finder, allowing players to create listings in-game and seek out others to help them in group activities. Your options in The First Descendant include going to Albion HQ and messaging random players (like many were wont to do in Destiny 1). Maybe they’ll join you for the activity in question. Maybe they’ll immediately leave and flame you for the unwanted invites – roll the dice and find out. If Nexon is deadset on no matchmaking for its Hard mode content, then an in-game LFG tool is the least it could offer.

Kicking AFK Players

I feel like I’m in a time machine, reading some of the complaints for this game since they mirror many of the issues that Destiny 1 had at launch. That includes the lack of options to kick AFK players. Say you’re on a mission, whether it’s a Void Intercept or a particularly difficult Infiltration Operation. The assistance of your team is paramount, but you get that one player who idles around and does nothing. You can’t kick them, and the game itself lacks anything to detect their AFK behavior, so you can do nothing but watch as they leech off of hard work and reap the rewards. It’s 2024 – the fact that this is still something that happens in a looter shooter is baffling.

Drop Rates

There are mixed opinions about drop rates currently. Some feel that the best items and materials should be rare and that’s fair. Others think that abysmally low drop rates that run in the single digits are just straight-up unfun and that’s also fair. Considering how many rewards are tied to a low drop rate, I’m inclined to agree – some more guaranteed sources would be ideal.

Also, raise the drop rates or implement methods like a knockout system in harder activities where players have an escalating chance to receive the rarest item with each completion. Maybe there’s some concern that players will run out of things to grind for, but the bigger issue is grinding for hours and not getting what they want, potentially causing them to leave and not return. It’s happened before in other loot games and it can absolutely happen here.

Encrypted Vaults

The concept of Encrypted Vaults isn’t bad – find some holographic doodads, ping them and follow the sounds to find the Vault, “???”, profit. It’s the third step where the problems begin and seemingly never end. First, you need a Code Analyzer to open it. Next, you need to complete a timed-button press mini-game. Miss the inputs within the given time, thus failing to open it, and the Vault won’t open.

Also, your Code Analyzer is consumed. Better get another one (and hopefully it wasn’t a Precision Code Analyzer, which is rarer). The more annoying thing is that even if you successfully hit the many inputs, you don’t slightly extend the time (and the timing is iffy). I get it – Nexon wanted to rip off the lockpicking mini-game from Warframe. Unfortunately, it’s one of the few copied mechanics that feels significantly worse than its inspiration.

Caliber Purchase Issues

Caliber is the premium currency, meaning have to pay real money for it. Used for directly purchasing Descendants, accelerating research and whatnot, it’s pretty important. If players aren’t receiving Caliber after purchasing it, that’s a big problem, yet somehow it’s occurred a couple of times within the first few days of launch. Perhaps it will be resolved sooner rather than later, but regardless of how you or I feel about the monetization, there’s nothing worse than paying for something in a game and not getting it.

Consumable Paint Jobs

Speaking of terrible monetization, why the heck are paint jobs consumable? Why do players only get one use out of paint colors and then have to spend the cash for more? Has Nexon not learned from Destiny 2, which received backlash for this at launch? Warframe has you pay for entire sets of color palettes, but they have unlimited uses. It’s one thing to sell Ultimate Descendants at absurd prices to skip the grind, but shaking down players for paint? Absurd.

Boss Design

A new hotfix is available and nerfed Eterllick the Tracker’s use of shield skills per phase. That’s good. Bosses like Devourer still don’t scale well for four players, leading to endless frustration. That one boss in that story mission can easily chunk down your health with fire damage, even if you have Fire Resist Modules. Then there’s the Dead Bride with her annoying immunity phases, especially if your teammates don’t prioritize breaking her parts. Ordinarily, a challenging boss would be nice, but this isn’t a Souls-like. There are plenty in The First Descendant that need a few balance passes to reduce their more annoying characteristics.

HUD Customization

If you’ve seen any gameplay, especially on consoles, the heads-up display can get a little…busy. Between displaying objectives, items you’re tracking, the map, your abilities and so on, there can be some clutter. While the HUD can be turned off for a more immersive experience, it would be nice to remove some information for a cleaner appearance. Add a dynamic option as well, turning the HUD invisible after some time for good measure.

Melee Combat

Aside from the absolute lack of melee weapons, melee combat just lacks punch overall. Whether you’re initiating a grapple strike, using a charged or uncharged melee or abilities like Sharen’s electric slash, they all lack impact. The first order of business is to revamp the system to be less clunky, then add some greatswords, lances and whatnot into the mix. Turn them into heavy ammo weapons if necessary, but they’re a must.